Friday, March 31

Lost Friday - "Lockdown."

Season 2 - Episode 17 - "Lockdown."Another Lost Friday is belatedly upon is. We have entirely too much to discuss.

Wow. This episode was so huge, it roundhouse kicked Lost Friday into two pieces. 'Lockdown' was like the Chuck Norris of island dramas. Best forced analogy ever; remind me to buy myself a drink this weekend, I deserve it after that display.

When it comes to Lost, more answers=more questions=more pills to get to bed at night, and 'Lockdown' didn't fail to impress. In terms of the direction of the show, this was just as big as 'Orientation' or the season 2 premiere. Huge things are on the way, and I, for one, welcome our new Hanso-funded overlords. Skinny time.

Henry Gale, despite his sinister demeanor at the end of the last episode, tries to convince Locke and a very suspicious Jack that he was just making a bad joke. Jack insists Henry draw another map, but Locke says "What's done is done." Jack becomes angry and orders Locke to put Henry back into the armory. After Jack leaves, Henry asks Locke why he lets Jack talk to him like that. Locke is silent, but grabs Henry roughly by the neck and throws him into the armory. Back in the clearing, Sayid, Charlie and Ana-Lucia have found both the balloon and the grave, apparently confirming Henry's story.

In the flashback, we see the continuation of Locke and Helen's relationship from "Orientation". Locke is preparing a picnic lunch for the couple, and we see that he packs an engagement ring into the lunch. Helen inquires what the picnic is about, and Locke tells her it is, indeed, a surprise, and to read her regular obituaries while he finishes up. She looks at the paper and sees the name "Anthony Cooper", Locke's father.Back on the island, Jack's medical attention is sought by several people, and he realizes that he needs to get the medicine back from Sawyer if anyone is to receive medical treatment without going broke in the process. Sawyer, Kate, and Hurley are nearby playing poker. While Kate and Hurley are playing for fun - mostly - Sawyer is obviously in it for the loot (mangoes and papayas). Jack takes the opportunity to win the medicine back.

In the hatch, Locke is seen pedaling furiously on the stationary bike while listening to some music. Suddenly, he stops. He hears some static noise and what sounds like a voice coming from the speakers around the hatch. Locke goes to look at the computer, notices the prompt is blinking like normal, and that the timer has 47 minutes left. A few seconds later, over Henry's protests from inside the armory, Locke hears a voice announce "5...4...3...2...1". At 1, the blast doors quickly begin to shut. First, the computer room is sealed off, then the window, then a door begins to close over the exit. Locke reacts quickly, grabs a crowbar, and dives to slide it under the door to stop it from closing completely.

Years earlier, Helen and Locke have postponed their picnic to go to Locke's father's funeral. Helen asks if Locke is sure he wants to do this. He is, and they go as the only attendees. Not even Locke's mother is there. Locke notices two mysterious men, who briefly cast glares in Locke's direction. Locke then glances in the other direction and sees a silver Mercedes. At the conclusion of the funeral, Locke stands next to the coffin and says, "I forgive you." The silver Mercedes immediately speeds off.

Meanwhile, Locke has formed a truce with Henry to get the blast door open. Together, the two are able to wedge it open and slide a toolbox underneath to prop it open. Locke hastily tries to slide under the heavy door, and is rewarded with the door crushing the toolbox just enough to pin his legs painfully under the door. Henry, following Locke's instructions, quickly grabs a stack of weights from the exercises area, and puts them under the door to stop any further pressure on Locke's legs. As it is obvious Locke will not escape soon, he tells Henry how to get into the computer room through the vents to input the numbers. Henry goes into the pantry to access the vents, but he slips climbing the shelves and lies stunned on the ground. Locke yells for Henry, but receives no answer. At that point, the horn speaker alarm begins blaring.

Back in Irvine, CA, Locke is assessing a piece of property that Nadia is purchasing. As Locke is about to leave, he sees the same silver Mercedes across the street from the house. When he approaches the vehicle, the window rolls down to reveal his father, who is still quite alive. They go to a bar, where Anthony reveals that he faked his own death to collect $700,000 as part of a life insurance scam. He says that the two men are looking to kill him for real this time because of the scam. He wants Locke to go to the bank to get the money for him from a safety deposit box, and keep $200,000 as payment. Anthony confesses that it won't pay Locke back for what he went through, and that if he doesn't see Locke again, he would understand. Locke goes to the bank to get the money, and races back home with the intention of taking Helen out to dinner. The two men are waiting at his house, though, and start questioning Locke about his father. Helen defends Locke and tells the men to get lost. The men ask what is in Locke's bag; he replies that it contains work papers. When they ask to look at it, the men find it does contain work papers. The two men leave, having not found what they came for. After the men are gone, Helen asks Locke if he was lying about not having seen his dad that day. He says he wasn't lying and that he hadn't seen him.

On the island, Jack is soundly trouncing Sawyer at poker, and wins back all of the medicine with a pair of nines. He tells Sawyer that he will pick up the medicine later, and starts heading back to the hatch. As Jack is walking away, Sawyer asks Jack why he didn't try to win back the guns. Jack replies, "When I need the guns, I'll get the guns."

In the hatch, Henry slowly gets up as the timer begins to go off. Gaining his footing again, he climbs hurriedly into the vent, disappearing from Locke's sight. The timer begins to beep rapidly, signaling the beginning of the 1-minute countdown. Locke begins to get nervous, but suddenly the alarm stops, there is a whirring noise, and the lights go out. Seconds later, blacklights come on and some sort of drawing is revealed on the blast door that Locke is trapped under. It appears to be a map of the island compounds, or diagram of some kind, with a swan shape and a "I am here" for the current bunker. There is not a good look at it before the normal lights turn back on and the blast doors retract to their normal positions. Henry steps out of the computer room and tells Locke that he only did what Locke asked him to do, nothing more.

Rounding out this episode's flashback, we return to the motel where Locke's dad said he would be. Locke has taken him up on his offer and empties the money out onto a table. Anthony asks about "the woman you were with at my funeral". Locke tells his dad that her name is Helen and he is going to ask her to marry him over dinner that night. Anthony seems to approve of this and congratulates John just as he is leaving. Opening the door, however, he sees Helen standing right there. Helen is obviously hurt and reprimands Anthony with strong words and an even stronger slap to the face. She leaves and Locke chases after her. Locke claims he was going to tell her everything eventually, but she throws it back in his face, saying that Locke chose his father's love over hers. While saying that he can't live without her, Locke gets down on one knee and proposes. After a long silence, Helen shakes her head and drives away, leaving Locke to stare at his father getting into a taxi cab to drive away as well.

Kate tries to follow Jack back to the hatch, claiming she hasn't had a shower in days. Jack quickly makes up a story about a busted water pipe, but quickly recovers by promising to let her know as soon as it is fixed. They exchange flirty glances before Kate sees a flashing light over Jack's shoulder. Both race over to see what it is and find an enormous package of food (with the DHARMA logo) attached to a parachute, seemingly some sort of air drop. Sayid, Charlie, and Ana-Lucia then cross paths with Jack and Kate and the scene ends with Jack asking the other group what they found.

Finally, we see all three island stories converging in one place. Jack rushes in and grabs Henry off of Locke. Locke tries to defend Henry, saying that he was helping after the blast doors came down. Seconds later, Charlie, Ana-Lucia and Sayid enter, too. Holding Henry at gunpoint, Sayid confirms that the balloon and the grave were where Henry said they were. However, Sayid was still skeptical as to the validity of Henry's story, so he dug up the grave, and found a man's body, a body with the ID of a black man on it that read "Henry Gale".

[SMASH CUT TO BLACK.]

I'm still a sucker for that smash cut. They should start doing it after every line, relavant or otherwise.

"Hey...wanna mango?"

[SMASH CUT.]

Let's get to the numbers already, before I start forgetting everything I want to talk about.

4. Let's just get the obvious stuff out of the way first. It's a damn good thing that Locke slid under the blast doors feet-first. I'm just saying is all. I really didn't want the 'big surprise' this week to be Locke's head exploding like a melon at a Gallagher show. The island giveth and the island taketh away, and Locke's going to be hobbling around for the rest of the season, questioning his faith in the island (as well as the hatch) and facing inner demons from his past. Basically, what I do every weekend.

[SMASH CUT.]

8. Look, Sayid's nuts, end of story. Digging up a grave just to spite a guy? He must really want to kill Henry badly. I mean, it's a good thing that he went through all that trouble, I'm just saying that I wouldn't have. Then again, if I were on the island, Eko would have surely sawed me in half by now for bothering him.

[SMASH CUT.]

15. Now we know how food and supplies get to the island; parachute drop, yo. It will be interesting to see what other supplies there are besides food in the crates. Perhaps there will be more Desmond/Ethan-style Dharma injections, and also weapons and ammo.

If I've said it once, I've said it a hundred times, I bet Dharma makes good food. After I saw Kate pull out that box of Mac-N-Cheese, I went straight to Noodles for a bowl of my own.

Here's the big theory. The lockdown has everything to do with the supply drop. The timing was exactly the same. The castaways would have seen the supplies the instant they hit the ground, so they weren't there for any longer than a minute. The voice on the intercom was going on about some 'protocol,' so why not? Doesn't it seem strange that right after this bizarre lockdown takes place, a big crate of supplies falls from the sky? They are one in the same, the answer is why.

If you want confirmation, take a peek at the lower right-hand corner of the map, where 'lockdown and restocking procedures' are mentioned.

[SMASH CUT.]

16. Did 'Fake Henry' really push the button? I think that he did, although I guess it doesn't matter. The clock's functioning properly, the doors came back up once the supplies were dropped and nothing got done blowed up, so no harm, no foul. Personally, it doesn't make much sense to have blast doors seal you off from the computer, especially if they want you to be pressing it every 108 minutes. I'm not criticizing Dharma or anything, it just sounds like a design flaw to me. There. I said it, and I'd say it again if I had to.

One of the first clues to 'Fraud Henry' lying was when Locke explained entering the numbers to him. He took those numbers to memory rather quickly, and appeared almost content when Locke was explaining it to him. Even after getting racked trying to slip through the vents, he did his job perfectly. At that point, I knew that 'Pants On Fire Henry' knew more than he was leading on.

So, who is the 'Real Henry?' My assumption was that he was the actual balloonist/non-metallic miner, and 'Lies-O-Plenty Henry' just stole his story before the Others killed him. It's really surprising that he stuck around to help Locke, knowing full well that he could be in serious trouble. Locke had a huge knife in a sheath around his waist, and I was just waiting for 'Imposter Monkey Henry' to swipe it, but nope.

Just let me do one more before we move on. 'Sir-Lies-A-Lot Henry.'

[SMASH CUT.]

23. Let's talk about the flashbacks for a second. First off, you probably already figured out that Locke was inspecting the new home of Nadia, who you remember from Sayid's amazing flashback. Sayid shot himself in the leg and killed a guard so she could flee the country, and was actually on Flight 815 so he could find her. I wonder if Locke will remember her, and possibly figure out her connection to Sayid.

I doubt it.

Also, the two planes that flew over the Flightline motel were Oceanic planes. I also think that the bank where Locke retrieved the safe deposit box was the same one that Kate hit many years ago.

Locke's 'Dad' is the real 'Sawyer.' I'm sure of it. You heard it here first. Or third, I don't really know or care. What am I, a psychic?

Where we are now with Locke's flashbacks, we've seen his relationship with Helen disintegrate, but we still don't know how he loses use of his legs. Frankly, I don't know how much more grief and torture I can see Locke take. John Locke is without question the most beaten man I've ever seen on TV. Nothing has ever gone right for this man, save for when the island blessed him after the crash. He's been a victim of a wretched betrayal by his parents and con men, resulting in the loss of a kidney, and his only love is leaving him. Sooner or later, he'll get paralyzed and resort to calling sex lines to talk to people he wishes were Helen. Back on the island, he just mushed his legs up again, he holds no power anymore with Jack in charge, and was responsible for the death of Boone. Man!

[SMASH CUT.]

42. All right, damn it. Let's talk about this map.

I'll be honest with you; laying it all out on the table for my loyal and wonderful readers. When the sketch of the map popped up on the blast door, I whizzed myself. Not a little bit, either. A full-out, balls-to-the-wall, Great Flood whiz of epic proportions. There wasn't a dry seat on the couch.

I've thought about it. I've studied the map. I've listened to what other people have to say about it. I've allowed myself to breathe and figure it all out. I'm calm. It makes sense to me now, as does life in general.

I am at peace.

Listen, we can speculate as long as we want, but I like to focus on the facts. Here's what we know for sure:

a) More than one person worked on this map. There are at least two distinct styles of handwriting, with some latin and french phrases on the door.

b) Whoever was working on this map had an extensive knowledge of the island. They knew where most of the hatches were, knew about all sorts of incidents, burial sites and important dates. They know about the DHARMATEL system that electronically links up all the hatches in a network (Remember Michael talking on the computer?), and has secret knowledge of experiments being carried out.Whoever wrote this wasn't a test subject, or at least not one that followed the rules. This wasn't written by Desmond, that's for sure. Maybe Kelvin?

c) This had to have been written during lockdown, certainly not all at once. It was also written to show up under UV light, possibly to keep this imformation hidden from prying eyes. I wonder why the UV light goes on during lockdown. Maybe it's an energy-saving thing or an alternative to keeping the lights on for a certain period of time.

What I mean is this. When Jehovah's Witnesses show up at your door, what do you do? You hit the lights and lock the doors. Maybe the doors go down and the lights go out when the hatchlings need to hide from something; stay unnoticed. Perhaps Cerberus is a Jehovah's Witness, handing out copies of The Watchtower for all of eternity.

d) Go back to the post below this (Lost Friday - Temporary Edition) and read what EW has to say about the whole thing (along with a great transcription of the map itself). Their theory on Cerberus is spooky and accurate. How crazy to think that all these weird things are happening because they've been created to do so. What kind of messed up Initiative is this, anyway? E.S.P. experiments? A virtual silicon valley of wires and electronic hookups? There is so much that's going on all over the island that we didn't know about... it's ridiculous.

e) Do you think the island is shaped like an octogon? Or, at the very least, the Dharma-functioning part of the island is? Furthermore, what do you think is in the center of the 'hub?' Apparently, this is still a mystery even to the person who wrote this map in the first place. Between you, me and the fence post, I bet it's a Starbucks with a wi-fi connection and a Guns & Roses pinball machine.

More importantly, what will Locke do to get to see that map again? Here's hoping this is the castaways chance to get smart and figure out what they're a part of. If they catch back up with Desmond and start getting some answers from Henry, mayafiljsbdlj a df4444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444

Sorry, I passed out for a second there.

I'm done with this. If I keep thinking of things to talk about, this will never end.

Next week's episode is titled 'Dave,' and it will be Hurley-centric. The official description reads as follows: "Libby lends Hurley support when he begins to think the island is having a strange effect on him, and Locke's sense of purpose is shaken when the prisoner provides new information about the hatch."

If you saw the previews, you see the Hurley is starting to lose his marbles a wee tad, and needs someone to wrap their arms as far around him as they can and tell him everything's going to be okay. Expect to meet up with some of his psych ward buddies, perhaps even see what put him there in the first place. Also, look for the numbers to make a cameo appearance. I saw Hurley attack Sawyer for calling him 'crazy,' which looked pretty damn cool. Hurley episodes are always a bit sad, because he's a very likable character with a pretty depressing past. Big man's got issues, and he's had very few flashbacks thus far in which to figure him out.

Down in the hatch, the A-team's going to be working over 'Unimpressive Replica Henry,' and hopefully getting some answers. During the previews, we hear him say "I'm a good person," which may or may not be true, considering the master plan of the Others (take good people, murder bad people, lather, repeat). He DID stick around to help Locke, so his intentions may be good, but the Others have a pretty awful way of showing it. I don't know, maybe if they called every once in a while so I knew they weren't dead, I'd be more sympathetic to the cause.

Another thing he says under interrogation is, "He'll kill me," in reference to whomever he's working for. This mysterious 'he' is probably the same 'he' that Zeke was worried about during 'Maternity Leave.' This hatch information that shakes Locke's belief system should be mighty interesting.

Here are the dates and names for (almost) every remaining episode of season two:

Start the headache-inducing discussion in the comments section, and send all hatemail to communistdance@yahoo.com. Thanks for checking me out for another week; March has been the biggest month ever for the CDP in terms of traffic, and I really appreciate it. I'm not going anywhere if you don't.

As always, here's the index of every Lost Friday in season two. Sure, they may look good in the back of the bar when the lights are down, but come last call, they're going to make you wish you had left with your friends.

A truly great episode!You know its a top one when you find yourself utterly unable to resist rewatching some key scenes hours after the first time. And then later rewatch them again.(Realizing that you're yelling like hell at your cat just for walking in front of the TV when Locke's lockdown began is also a hint)

"It's really surprising that he stuck around to help Locke, knowing full well that he could be in serious trouble."---Nah, it makes sense. Things must've seemed to play out rather well for him. He was winning Locke's trust and probably thought that Sayid et al wouldn't go so far as to dig up the grave.

"Locke is without question the most beaten man I've ever seen on TV."---Yes!

"Nothing has ever gone right for this man"---*cough* $200.000 *cough*

Really weird that the lockdown (whatever it's purpose was) collides with the button task. Might it be a non-Dharma doing? Perhaps initiated by someone wanting the survivors to see the map (that Claire was rescued suggest that there's some sort of resistance among the Others). I guess we'll find out all about it next time when Sayid tortures the crap out of Henry.

The Map poses a true dilemma for Locke. Will he take the risk of not pushing the button in order to perhaps get another glimpse of the map (or perhaps being blown to pieces)?

Is there a more hig res version of the map somewhere? I can barely read anything on the one posted here! Can anyone point out where on the map the hatch that the other survivors (Eko and company) found is located?

The disease worsens with the treatment. The remedy is worse than the disease.

In true Lost style this little tidbit creates more questions while answering a few.

I was reeling after this episode. I should have known something was up, they found Henry's balloon far too quickly. Sayid's lines at the end were delivered so perfectly, the hand layed down one card at a time. SMASH CUT

I know what you're saying about Henry. Why not stick around, and dig your mails a little deeper into Locke's psyche? If he fled, he would have been found and killed eventually; it makes sense.

I don't think Locke took that money. After that conversation with Anthony and what went down with Helen, it's very possible that he left without it. I wouldn't have, but I think his morals are better than mine. Of course, if anyone has proof in the show that he DID take it, speak up, cuz' I want to know.

It IS weird that the lockdown makes for the chance of not being able to press the button in time. There's something about it that just doesn't make sense. Henry's going to sing like a parrot next week, maybe we'll get some answers.

B., I know what you mean about the backstory in terms of the overall spectrum of the episode. I guess that they just wanted to show that Locke has abandonment issues, which rang true when he was so happy that Henry stuck around for him. I also remember at the start of the season, when Locke was screaming 'Don't leave me here alone!' concerning the pressing of the button. He really needs something to hold onto, but everything keeps destroying him and eventually walking out.

THANKS for the bigger version of the map! I knew it was out there somewhere, and I could only make it so big on my page. That version is interesting because it contains the translations of the latin phrases as well. Awesome. The Tail Section is a great Lost page, so that image isn't going anywhere.

Sayid's little monologue at the end was sinister and methodical, true to his character. You just knew that Henry didn't expect anyone to be crazy enough to dig the damn grave up with his bare hands, and his expression showed it.

My prediction... Locke is still going to do his best to protect Henry from harm since Henry stuck around and helped him, even though he knows Henry was lying. Locke couldn't let go of his dad, even after getting conned out of a kidney. Locke will want to take a less confrontational approach in figuring out the Others.